Aurora adults only

I know that we are well off topic now, but I have also long held the view that the entertainment on P&O ships is stuck in a time warp. Most shows seem to fall into the categories of 'geriatric' or 'holiday camp' and the special guest acts are 'has been's' or 'never been's'. There are some exceptions, but they are few and far between. We enjoyed a Darren Day performance in the Limelight Club on Britannia a few years back, so booked to see Clare Sweeney in the same venue the following year. At the outset, she mentioned that the average age of passenger on board that cruise was 48. We are older than that but almost groaned out loud when she then proceeded to sing 'We'll meet again' by Dame Vera Lynn, accompanied by all the arm waving etc. I despair. Add this to the 'Are we all having a good time?' and 'say hello to the person sat next to you' twaddle that the Cruise Directors (or Entertainment Managers) come out with and I am at risk of chucking myself overboard.

I agree that the entertainment is dreadful, as you say, has beens or never have beens and, my pet hate, the tribute acts who would be booed out of the place in any bar on a karaoke evening.

On Azura last year we were amongst the many passengers who actually walked out of one headliners show because it was so bad, out of tune singing and a lot of yelling. I also detest the cruise directors who think that they are still red coats telling us to shake hands / hug the person next to you, we just don't participate I simply do not like being touched by strangers. Fortunately we don't cruise for the entertainment though we would be happy to see an improvement in the offerings. We have enjoyed many of the speakers in the past but last year the ones on the cruises that we did were not as interesting as in the past.

The thing that gets my goat more than anything, is the fact that these dreadful acts get multiple cruises free of charge in return for a few hours effort for something that they churn out cruise after cruise. Same with the guest speakers. I've seen a few really good ones but some of them you do wonder how they were ever deemed to be 'entertainment'. Some of them seem as though they are just reading out information from the Wikipedia page on the subject that they are talking about and have blagged a free holiday as a result!

Agree Selbourne. Some speakers are better than others and are repeated. I think Concorde man has been advertised on three cruises we have done.

I noticed you said the accessible cabins on Aurora are big which is reassuring as we are on her in June. I have also read that it could be difficult to get out on deck because of high thresholds. I am taking a scooter as well so am a bit concerned about this. Any info would be helpful.

You must do the wrong cruises. We have sailed 6 times on Oriana and I have never found her like a care home. There were lots of folk in their fifties, some a lot younger than that and of course some a lot older. We are in our 70s, but like second dining, the shows, staying up late etc. What a terrible generalised comment.

I have to concur with the original poster. We sailed on Oriana last year and the average on board was nearer 80 than 50. The whole atmosphere changes on an adult only ship and it wasn’t for us. And yes it did feel like a floating care home.

Does this mean that the cruises listed as on the Aurora on P&O website are the same but now adult only or will there be changes to destinations too?

I expect they will stay the same. Certainly for the cruise that I'm going on, I had an email and a letter to tell me that it would be adults only, but there was no mention of any change in itinerary. To do so would be likely to annoy even more of those who have already booked. (So the cynics might say, given P&O's recent form, that it's highly likely!)

You must do the wrong cruises. We have sailed 6 times on Oriana and I have never found her like a care home. There were lots of folk in their fifties, some a lot younger than that and of course some a lot older. We are in our 70s, but like second dining, the shows, staying up late etc. What a terrible generalised comment.

We have sailed on Oriana 3 times and concur with Jean's experience - one cruise to the Fjords, one to St Petersburg and to the Baltics and our last one was to the Northern Lights last year. All these had a real mixture of people onboard, a lot of whom were very active indeed and certainly young minded. We are in our fifties -sixties and were at the shows and out in the bars after dinner for a nightcap until very late along with our friends, certainly not fitting into the nursing home category.

This entertainment for the over 60's is not really for them more like the over 90's. I think it is a strange time dilation that the young do when thinking of older people and add 30 years to their age.

 

My Mum who is in her mid sixties was in to punk music when she was a teenager. She still likes that music. She was also in to the beastie boys when she was in her late 20's, she is not in to this old music which was the music of her parents.

 

My Dad was in to Northern Soul and R&B when he was a teenager. Again he doesn't want to listen to music that was old when he kid.

 

I have challenged the entertainment in the past and they always say they are playing it for the older guests. I do wonder if they have actually asked them if they wanted to listen to it?

 

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I am 61 and was into Progressive Rock in the 70s as a teenager; still my favourite. The music they feature on the ships is often for my parents' generation not mine!

The thing that gets my goat more than anything, is the fact that these dreadful acts get multiple cruises free of charge in return for a few hours effort for something that they churn out cruise after cruise. Same with the guest speakers. I've seen a few really good ones but some of them you do wonder how they were ever deemed to be 'entertainment'. Some of them seem as though they are just reading out information from the Wikipedia page on the subject that they are talking about and have blagged a free holiday as a result!

I agree about the 'reading from Wikipedia' comment - I have often thought exactly the same. Coupled with poor presentation, poor engagement with the audience and the same lecturers appearing too frequently often makes for disappointment. I'm sure there is a wealth of good speakers out there. I'm generally prepared to go to most lectures but mostly I am very, very disappointed with the standard. Some have been dire.

It would surely be possible to screen lecturers - by professionals used to making such judgements on the quality of content, delivery, appropriateness and enjoyment.

And I'm also often disappointed in the subject matter. Clearly you have to have a variety to appeal to different interests but there often appears to be little attempt to gear lectures to the itinerary. We have twice been to Iceland and not had what I would think the obvious lectures on the geology, energy production, seismic activity which mark Iceland out as being somewhere very different and interesting.

We went on a Celebrity cruise to Norway and had a young PhD student in Marine Biology and she was excellent managing to deliver lectures which were able to inform a wide audience from those with little prior knowledge to those who were already well informed. Not an easy task but I was very impressed by her skill and expertise and she really generated a lot of interest in whale watching! In days gone by we travelled with Thomson and had some fascinating lectures: the 'Seige of Leningrad' on a Baltic cruise, a bit of a scratch the surface of some of the historical background to issues in the Middle East on the way to Israel and Egypt (a difficult topic but nevertheless very interesting to be given a layman's guide), and on a lighter note an ex producer of light entertainment for the BBC. He'd worked with Morecambe and Wise, the Two Ronnies and all the well known and well loved stars of that era. He was amazing - six lectures, no notes, more entertaining than most of the acts on in the theatre and standing room only - and standing ovations too. They remain far and away the most memorable lectures because they were so well done.

It would be great if P&O would seek more variety and quality and not rely on the same pool of lecturers. However good or interesting a series of lectures may be, I doubt anyone wants to hear it two or three times.

I expect they will stay the same. Certainly for the cruise that I'm going on, I had an email and a letter to tell me that it would be adults only, but there was no mention of any change in itinerary. To do so would be likely to annoy even more of those who have already booked. (So the cynics might say, given P&O's recent form, that it's highly likely!)

Thank you, hubby was keen to do an adult only one that included Gibraltar and Aurora has a 14 nighter so am thinking of booking that.

Agree Selbourne. Some speakers are better than others and are repeated. I think Concorde man has been advertised on three cruises we have done.

I noticed you said the accessible cabins on Aurora are big which is reassuring as we are on her in June. I have also read that it could be difficult to get out on deck because of high thresholds. I am taking a scooter as well so am a bit concerned about this. Any info would be helpful.

Very happy to help with your questions. There are 8 accessible balcony cabins on Aurora and all are identical. They are by the lifts, which we thought might cause a noise nuisance, but didn’t.

The cabins are dated, particularly the pink bathrooms and minuscule (and rubbish) TV’s, but there is plenty of space. Although not stated, there is a large sofa bed. The doors to the corridors are automated, which is a blessing and a curse. My wife found them useful as she could get in and out in her wheelchair unaided, but they take too long to close, so you are on show for a while with passers by nosing at you as they walk past (one irritating woman almost walked in she was so interested in our ‘large’ cabin)!

My wife was able to move around within the cabin and in and out of the bathroom whilst still in her wheelchair, something that you cannot even do in suites. This is why I find it frustrating that they are allocated to people who don’t really need them, purely because of having a scooter (no offence meant, I know that you have no choice) as they are a godsend for those who are wheelchair bound. The balcony is a good size and of the slightly enclosed variety.

As for the ship itself, being older it isn’t perfect from an accessibility perspective, but not too bad. There are plenty of accessible toilets (although the automated doors are difficult as they don’t close if you are too close to them once you are inside). All the bars and restaurants were no problem at all and the waiters were fantastic at assisting. You cannot get from the front of the ship to midships on D deck as there are steps.

There are 6 doors out on to the promenade deck but NONE are automated. All are heavy and have steep thresholds. It was a struggle to get in and out even with my asssiatnce as my wife couldn’t propel herself over the threshold with me holding the door, so I had to try to push her in and out whilst grappling with the door. Frequently a helpful passenger would see us struggling and assist. I mentioned this to reception that one should be automated and they informed me that there is an automated door out from Champions, but there isn’t. It was out of use all the time and had a heavy metal manual door beyond it!

There is, however, an automated door out on to the Sun deck, on the port side near the Library. You would get in and out of there unaided.

The lifts are a reasonable size and most (but not all) passengers are considerate to the fact that you have no choice but to use them when they could use the stairs. There is a viewing platform at the rear of the theatre (in front of the sound & lighting booth) for wheelchair and scooter users.

Please feel free to ask any other questions if you have any further concerns.

I don't see why certain ships can't be adult only for most of the year and allow children in school holidays. I suspect the real motivation is to add cabins to Aurora like they did for Oriana which makes this not feasible.

There is a third way, one which applies on some of the smaller lines like Star Clippers and used to be the norm when I started cruising 25 years ago. Accept children but do not specifically cater for them. Oriana was the first ship I sailed on which catered specifically for children. The ships I had previously sailed on, Cunard Countess, Cunard Vistafjord and a small Costa ship, accepted children but had no childrens facilities or clubs. Parents were responsible for taking care of their own children onboard. P&O could follow suit and make Aurora (and Arcadia and Oriana?) an adults orientated rather than an adults only ship. Parents who were happy to accept those responsibilities could continue to sail on her, those who needed a child minding service could sail on the family orientated ships.

There is a third way, one which applies on some of the smaller lines like Star Clippers and used to be the norm when I started cruising 25 years ago. Accept children but do not specifically cater for them. Oriana was the first ship I sailed on which catered specifically for children. The ships I had previously sailed on, Cunard Countess, Cunard Vistafjord and a small Costa ship, accepted children but had no childrens facilities or clubs. Parents were responsible for taking care of their own children onboard. P&O could follow suit and make Aurora (and Arcadia and Oriana?) an adults orientated rather than an adults only ship. Parents who were happy to accept those responsibilities could continue to sail on her, those who needed a child minding service could sail on the family orientated ships.

That sounds like a complete nightmare to me. We have never found kids to be a particular problem on family ships as you rarely see them as they are in the kids club. The problem isn’t usually badly behaved kids, but poor parents. We started cruising around the time you did and those people who took kids usually made sure that they were well behaved. Times have changed. You now see parents who abdicate all responsibility for their kids as they are on holiday and would allow them to run riot around the ship if there was no proper facility for them.

Well the only time we cruised on family friendly was on Azura and it was a nightmare. young Teens pressing every lift button in the evening. Then at the Adult Only pool at the stern, the Kids Club arrived and got in the pool. One little kid vomited in the pool so it was unuseable for 24 hours. Never again.

Thank you, Selbourne for your detailed reply. It looks like getting outside to the prom deck may be a challenge as I have no strength in my arms to propel my wheelchair and my scooter has a low clearance. Having said that, we have learnt over the years to find a way round most problems, and not let it spoil things. At least we have a balcony cabin to look forward to.

There is a third way, one which applies on some of the smaller lines like Star Clippers and used to be the norm when I started cruising 25 years ago. Accept children but do not specifically cater for them. Oriana was the first ship I sailed on which catered specifically for children. The ships I had previously sailed on, Cunard Countess, Cunard Vistafjord and a small Costa ship, accepted children but had no childrens facilities or clubs. Parents were responsible for taking care of their own children onboard. P&O could follow suit and make Aurora (and Arcadia and Oriana?) an adults orientated rather than an adults only ship. Parents who were happy to accept those responsibilities could continue to sail on her, those who needed a child minding service could sail on the family orientated ships.

This would suit us perfectly. Our young son chooses not to use the kids club or facilities so he is in our care full time apart from when his grandparents take over so that my wife and I can have a lunch or two to ourselves. Shame it is not likely to happen.

Damian

This would suit us perfectly. Our young son chooses not to use the kids club or facilities so he is in our care full time apart from when his grandparents take over so that my wife and I can have a lunch or two to ourselves. Shame it is not likely to happen.

Damian

Star Clippers, with whom I sail regularly nowadays, have a statement in their brochure which says "Children are welcome onboard Star Clippers. While there is no structured programme providing supervision and care for young children, they are invited to participate in shipboard activities suited to their abiliity" Indeed, one of my abiding memories of a recent cruise on Royal Clipper is of watching a six year old boy climb the mast. It was perfectly safe. He wore a safety harness and his father climbed up behind him, and before him on the way down. I am sure that it would have been his abiding memory of the cruise as well, much more so than playing pirates in the kids club of a family ship.

Well the only time we cruised on family friendly was on Azura and it was a nightmare. young Teens pressing every lift button in the evening. Then at the Adult Only pool at the stern, the Kids Club arrived and got in the pool. One little kid vomited in the pool so it was unuseable for 24 hours. Never again.

.......What a terrible generalised comment.;)

There are many similar comments on other threads regarding children on ships. I'm sure some are fine, but it wasn't for us.

Well thank goodness we didn’t move onto an Aurora cruise next summer like we nearly did. Such terrible customer service to take bookings then cancel. I’d also like to know where the 3500 extra kids spaces they are now advertising are coming from? We have always had to book in release for a cabin sofa bed as so limited space for under 8s which I understand was to ensure space in kids clubs and for safety. Is this now not an issue or will the kids facilities now be over subscribed?

Well thank goodness we didn’t move onto an Aurora cruise next summer like we nearly did. Such terrible customer service to take bookings then cancel. I’d also like to know where the 3500 extra kids spaces they are now advertising are coming from? We have always had to book in release for a cabin sofa bed as so limited space for under 8s which I understand was to ensure space in kids clubs and for safety. Is this now not an issue or will the kids facilities now be over subscribed?

I haven’t seen the advert that you refer to that states 3,500 extra kids spaces, but if that is the case then I assume that they are referring to the two new ships that are on order for 2020 and 2022 although Cruises on those ships are not on sale yet. They will both be very family oriented, hence the need for more adult only capacity. It is widely predicted that Oriana will leave the P&O fleet in a few years time and without converting Aurora to adult only the balance will be too heavily skewed towards family ships.

Just to add some stats to my point above, I’ve just done some number crunching.

Current P&O fleet passenger capacity 17,689 of which 3,974 is adult only (Oriana and Arcadia) = 22.5% adult only.

Future P&O fleet (with 2 new ships and Aurora adult only) passenger capacity 28,089 of which 5,848 will be adult only = 20.8% adult only.

Future P&O fleet if, as is widely predicted, Oriana is sold. Passenger capacity 26,209 of which 3,968 would be adult only = 15% adult only.

So, regardless of whether Oriana is sold or not, the proportion of adult only capacity falls.

Although I agree with the change to adult only and the stats above show why it is needed, I have every sympathy with those who have had to cancel family holidays on Aurora for summer 2019 and I hope that they all manage to find a suitable alternative.

Although I agree with the change to adult only and the stats above show why it is needed, I have every sympathy with those who have had to cancel family holidays on Aurora for summer 2019 and I hope that they all manage to find a suitable alternative.

Thank you for your sympathy Selbourne but in light of the way that P&O have dealt with it any alternatives will in future be with another company and definitely not with Carnival.

I also wonder if this has anything to do with the sudden announcement to make Aurora adult only and cramming families on to the larger ships. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2603260

P&O going for the grey dollar in addition to the grey pound. :confused:

I haven’t seen the advert that you refer to that states 3,500 extra kids spaces, but if that is the case then I assume that they are referring to the two new ships that are on order for 2020 and 2022 although Cruises on those ships are not on sale yet. They will both be very family oriented, hence the need for more adult only capacity. It is widely predicted that Oriana will leave the P&O fleet in a few years time and without converting Aurora to adult only the balance will be too heavily skewed towards family ships.

I guess I don’t have an issue with the ship itself being adults only, they just shouldn’t have accepted any family bookings on it for after the refit, I read on another forum someone has had to cancel their entire wedding because of this. I’m not sure what position the guests without kids are in. Terrible customer service with a lot of disappointed families and he 5% reduction off another cruise is beyond insulting. Can you imagine the uproar if P&o turned round and stated they were only allowing people with kids to go on the 2018 Christmas cruises and disembarked everyone else.

Thank you for your sympathy Selbourne but in light of the way that P&O have dealt with it any alternatives will in future be with another company and definitely not with Carnival.

 

I also wonder if this has anything to do with the sudden announcement to make Aurora adult only and cramming families on to the larger ships. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2603260

P&O going for the grey dollar in addition to the grey pound. :confused:

I can reassure you that it is not due to the US market, as I have just established that the thread you refer to is a complete ‘non story’. P&O are NOT suddenly targeting the North American market, as that thread claims. Somebody has posted a page from a US travel agents website dated 2009. This agent has apparently been dealing with P&O for many years. I think someone is mischief making in order to provoke a reaction. Absolutely nothing has changed in relation to the North American market.

I guess I don’t have an issue with the ship itself being adults only, they just shouldn’t have accepted any family bookings on it for after the refit, I read on another forum someone has had to cancel their entire wedding because of this. I’m not sure what position the guests without kids are in. Terrible customer service with a lot of disappointed families and he 5% reduction off another cruise is beyond insulting. Can you imagine the uproar if P&o turned round and stated they were only allowing people with kids to go on the 2018 Christmas cruises and disembarked everyone else.

I agree. I think even those of us who welcome the move to adult only would agree that family bookings should not have been taken a matter of months ago for summer 2019. The scenario that you describe must be heartbreaking for those involved. P&O certainly don’t cover themselves in glory with these situations.